Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are working to build a world-class airport cluster through strategical cooperation promoted by government.

Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport Image: www.tbxt.com

A new guideline released at the end of last year outlines Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei's future air transport orientation, with Beijing airport as an international aviation hub; Tianjin an international center for air freight operations, and Hebei serving popular low-cost airlines. This move is to promote the coordinated development of civil aviation in this region.

​​In line with this guideline, some of Beijing's domestic airlines, especially those serving Beijing Capital International Airport's 28 percent of airlines to and from second- and third-tier cities, will be transferred to Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport and neighboring Tianjin Binhai International Airport, said Feng Zhenglin, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Airports in the cluster will be connected by intercity high-speed railways and urban rail.

Tianjin Binhai International Airport Image: pic.carnoc.com

As a result, Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport in Hebei province, has seen a 50 percent year-on-year increase of passengers from Beijing during the three-day Qingming holiday. In the meantime, about 1,500 passengers from Beijing took off from Hebei, said Cheng Shanshan, an airport spokesperson.

​According to Feng, Beijing's two existing airports have reached their capacity ceiling. During peak hours, Beijing Capital International Airport has to handle a plane taking off or landing every 49 seconds on average. The capital has started building a new civilian airport－Daxing International Airport－in an area overlapping the Daxing district in Beijing and Langfang in Hebei. Beijing will mainly serve international airlines when the capital's second-largest airport is completed in 2019, said one China's top civil aviation official.